Amanda and Jamie: Secrets In The Night
by smk123
Summary: Amanda and Jamie spend some quiet time together. Another story in the Amanda and Jamie series.


Jumping ahead to season 3 – not so much a humorous one this time – just a mother/son moment

Title: Secrets in the Night

Summary – Amanda and Jamie spend some quiet time together.

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters belong to WB and Shoot the Moon Productions. No infringement is intended. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Please do not redistribute or reproduce this story without my permission.

Timeline: season 3ish

Rating – general

Genre- fluff

It was a warm July evening. Crickets were chirping, creating a rhythmic symphony occasionally punctuated by the call of an owl or the trill of a cicada while the gentlest of breezes caused the trees to whisper in the background. The night sky was clear and stars twinkled overhead, their clarity and sheer number easily leading viewers into deeper thoughts about the vastness of the universe and one's place in it.

Lying on a blanket in her backyard, Amanda and Jamie stared up at the dark canvass above them, each lost in their own thoughts. Jamie was pressed close to his mother, his head resting on her shoulder. Absentmindedly, she stroked his hair while she enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. It wasn't often any more that he wanted to spend time just with her but for the past week he'd been especially clingy and she wondered why.

Phillip was at a sleep over and, while Jamie had been invited, he'd claimed a stomach ache and bowed out. Miraculously the illness had disappeared after supper and they'd spent the first part of the night watching a movie together. A mention of the big dipper by one of the characters had resulted in them being outside at ten o'clock studying constellations.

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I love you."

"And I love you too." She kissed the top of his golden head and gave him a gentle hug.

"Grandma and Phillip love you too."

"I know they do."

"And Aunt Edna and Aunt Minnie and Aunt Ruth and Uncle Herman and just about everybody loves you, don't they?"

"Well, I'd like to think so."

"Then..." there was long pause before he continue. "Why doesn't Dad love you?"

The unexpected question momentarily silenced her. Ignoring the pinprick of pain the query had caused, she tried to think of where this had come from and where it was going. She replied cautiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Well...'cause Tommy said that when people don't love each other anymore they get divorced and you and Dad got divorced so, when everybody else loves you, why doesn't Dad?"

Swallowing hard, she tried to push down the wave of hurt that flooded her being as old memories and questions surfaced. Why hadn't Joe loved her enough? Why didn't he love the boys enough? What could she have done differently to make him stay? Even though their divorce had been amicable, she still felt pain over her failed marriage and the loss of her dreams of a 'perfect' family. She didn't want to be married to Joe King anymore, so her feelings didn't really make sense but nevertheless, they were there, rearing their ugly heads at the strangest of times.

Realizing that Jamie was still waiting for an answer, she chose her words carefully. "You see Jamie, sometimes people change and what was right for them at one time, isn't right for them later on. When two people get married it's a special kind of love and your dad and I had that for awhile but then it changed to a different kind. When the special kind is missing, it's hard to stay married and we decided that it would be better to live apart. I still love your dad but it's a different kind of love now."

"But what about him? Does he have that different kind of love for you?"

"I think so."

"Hmm..."

Amanda saw that his brow was still furrowed so she tried again. "Remember last year when you just loved peanut butter cookies and that was all you would eat for dessert? And then, one day you didn't want peanut butter cookies anymore, you wanted something different?"

Jamie nodded. "I still like peanut butter cookies though but just not all the time."

"Well, your Dad was sort of like that except that I was the peanut butter cookie."

"That's silly, Mom. You're not a cookie!"

"I know." She tweaked his nose and he giggled.

"Can I tell you a secret, Mom?"

"Sure."

"Someday I'm gonna grow up and marry you."

"Oh that's sweet of you but—"

"No, I mean it, Mom. You're the best and I'll always love you and not like peanut butter cookies."

"Jamie, I'm your mother. You can't marry your mother. Besides I'm too old for you."

"But I'll get older..."

"And by then I'll be really really old."

"Will you have grey hair and wrinkles and walk really slow, like Mrs. McKinnon does?"

"Well, I might....one day...a long, long time from now."

"Oh. Well then maybe I won't marry you but I'll still love you and it will be a special love just like you said."

"And I'll still love you forever and always and it will be a special love, even when I'm old and grey."

They smiled at each other and shared a hug, then settled back to study the night sky.

*****

Standing in the shadows, Lee had overheard the whole conversation. He too wondered why Joe King didn't love Amanda. How could anyone not? On the other hand, he was glad that the man was an idiot and had walked away leaving the way clear for a certain secret agent. He had that 'special love' for Amanda. His heart leapt whenever she appeared. Her smile brightened his day. Her mannerisms, her laugh, the way her mind wandered from topic to topic—it fascinated him. She was beauty and kindness and warmth and one day, if he ever got up the nerve, she'd know how he felt. And maybe, if he was lucky, she'd have a 'special love' for him too.

A car drove down the street, the sound of it passing by jolting him out of his revere. Glancing at his watch he realized he had to leave for his shift at a stakeout across town. Taking one last look at the woman tenderly holding her son, he whispered his heart's deepest secret. "And I'll love you forever and always and it will be a special love, even when I'm old and grey." And with those words, he disappeared into the night.


End file.
